Torontoist » LGBTQ

Toronto’s Most Remarkable, Unremarkable Day

Rob Ford, defying all expectations, attended today's PFLAG flag-raising. And immediately the question became: do we applaud him for showing up or lament that our bar has been lowered so far?

It is a measure of how much of an issue Rob Ford’s relationship with Toronto’s queer communities has become that City Hall’s roof was filled today, with journalists and participants and the curious who came on a whim, all there to see Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays mark this as the International Day [...]

New Campaign Asks Rob Ford to Prove He Supports the LGBTQ Community

Posters, video, ask the mayor to participate in Pride or "admit you are against us."

Last week, Rob Ford confirmed that he would not be attending the Pride parade, and that he didn’t yet know if he’d be available to attend any other Pride events, including the flag-raising at City Hall. Needless to say this upset a lot of people (including us). Now, one of those people has launched a [...]

The AIDS Committee of Toronto Encourages Men To Show Some Spunk

ACT creates a new support group to help men wanting to pull back on their drug use during sexual activities.

Spunk is a new support group that’s been started by ACT, the AIDS Committee of Toronto, for gay and bisexual men who want to better manage their drug and alcohol use, especially during sex. In slang, a session of having sex while under the influence of drugs—often, but not limited to, meth—is know as “party [...]

Human Rights Milestone Remembered By Toronto’s Queer Community

Twenty-five years ago, the Ontario Human Rights code was extended to provide protection based on sexual orientation.

Last Friday the anniversary of an important milestone in queer history quietly slipped past: the inclusion of sexual orientation into the Ontario Human Rights Code 25 years ago, on December 2, 1986. The change meant legal protection against harassment and discrimination based on sexual orientation at a time when being fired for being gay was [...]

It’s Alive! The Human Library Breathes Life Into an Age-Old Pastime

Remember when talking to people was still a thing? On November 5, the TPL wants you to check out a book with a mind of its own.

Reading can be an intimate experience. Hopefully you learn something, at least—that’s what books are for, after all. But when was the last time a book talked back to you? Beginning this Saturday, you’ll be able to start placing holds from the Toronto Public Library’s newest collection: the Human Library. Now in its second year, [...]

Fabarnak Is a Hot Spot With an Odd Name

Good food and good causes come together at a popular Church Street café.

Fabarnak, the café in the Church Wellesley Village’s 519 Community Centre, reaches its first birthday next month, but executive chef Eric Wood says there are no plans yet to mark the milestone. There is plenty worth celebrating, however, as the small, charming space has racked up enthusiastic reviews and become a dining hot spot. Wood [...]

Pride 2011: “The Most Political Parade in 20 Years”

Not angry, primarily, but conscious. That was the feeling yesterday as Toronto's 31st annual Pride Parade got underway. There were some Rob Ford masks, there were the occasional angry chants, and there were flashmobs protesting potential cuts to services that benefit the queer community (they haven't been announced yet, but everyone is bracing)—but these were not the main point. Pride was just as it has been, full of joy and excitement and freedom and love. Everyone's radars are assuredly tuned to the politics of City Hall in a way they haven't been in years; happily, this manifested yesterday as fierce pride in Pride, and a strong sense of community. The parade felt less corporate than it has in quite some time, which also helped reinforce the sense that the Parade belongs to the people of Toronto, and any politician should think more than twice before messing with it.

Queer Game Enthusiasts Show Off Their Pride

Screenshot from Katamari Damacy showing the King of All Cosmos. And cows. And rainbows. On a weekday afternoon in early June, four organizers of the Toronto GayGamers group—Jean-Guy Spencer, James Phillips, Samson Romero, and Hardy (no last name, like Kylie or Ke$ha)—sat down to discuss their upcoming social. Conversation quickly turned to deciding which games [...]

But For Today I Am A Boy

Photo by wili_hybrid. There is little more dreadful for a parent than unintentionally hurting one’s own child. There is little more traumatic for a child than having something they dearly want taken away from them. A Toronto psychologist is under fire for recommending controversial treatments which some believe cause just that. A heartbreaking NPR documentary [...]